Bathtime…ahh a time of bliss, relaxation and transportation to a world of no stress! As you might guess, I love buying the latest monthly glossy, putting on some relaxing music and taking a long soak in a steaming hot bath. It really helps me to unwind and relax my muscles, a god send when its coming to the end of a hard week at work.

Now i know that i have this love of baths in common with a lot of my friends, both mums and non-mums, so i thought i’d put a post about how to achieve the perfect bath for optimum relaxation - just in time for this weekend! I’ve had a look at some holistic books, living magazines and listened to advice and below are my top tips. If you have any which you think would enhance the experience then please let me know!

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I was reading a blog post the other day over at Niche Delights and i was shocked to discover that some baby products (Johnsons included eeek!) are packed full of toxins!

Research shows that often the toxicology levels of some baby products from big brands are off the chart. Infact, scientists now believe that our children are exposed to over 80,000 toxic chemicals a day. Now that’s one statistic that scares me.

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Now I called this blog the Hectic Mum for one massive reason, before I had kids I was ‘mad busy’ ,now my life is beyond busy and Frantic Mum didn’t feel like I had any control! so Hectic seemed to cover not a minute to spare but in contol.   The statement I’m about to make isn’t the most insightful thing I’ve ever said but here goes, children can, more often than not, be extremely stressful and sometimes we all need just a few minutes to calm down, take a breather and collect our thoughts.

Now I know that the majority of you out there will be thinking “10minutes?!…I rarely get a free second, let alone 10 whole minutes” but I urge you to make free 10 minutes out of your day. I promise you it will make you happier, calmer and more focused!

I’ve listed some top tips I’ve collated from sites such as Active.com; as well as my own advice to help you sit back and de-stress, hope they help!

1. Have a ‘Galaxy’ moment. Chocolate releases endorphins in the brain which make you happier! (now that’s the best excuse I could come up with!)

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After the long lazy days of summer, thousands of children are now back to school and getting back into the swing of things. One big factor in this is trying to get them back into the pre-summer sleeping routine. After weeks of staying up late at night and getting up late in the morning, the sound of the alarm at 7.30am, signalling that it is time to get up for school can become the sound of doom – I remember it was for me at least…still is!

from www.cartoonstock.com

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What a sportastic week last week was. Usain Bolt broke yet another world record (now that man can run!), England won The Ashes , excuse to open another beer! And Burnley F.C. the underdogs beat both Manchester Utd and Everton! After watching all those highlights in the comfort of my lounge, I feel like it’s time to get out and get some exercise as a family.

As we are all aware this weekend is the last bank holiday weekend of the year, time to campaign for one more around October, that aside tt also marks the countdown until the kids go back to school and so I’ve been thinking of what to do to ‘send the kids off in style’ while not spending an arm and a leg!

Now there are the normal ideas such as camping in the back garden, a trip to the swimming pool or a big family meal (using our Recipe of the week) but I want to do something a bit more fun. A few brainwaves came over me including:
- Building a tree house (don’t know if the Daddies will be up for this on their weekend off!)
- A boat trip down the Thames (if you live in London)
- A speed boat ride on the Wave Rider in Scarborough (£4 for adults, £3 for children)

The best last minute idea I came up with (which actually lasts a whole day) is to take them on safari!

knowsley-safari-park

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